Improvement



No. 3,228. PATBNTED AUG. 26, 1843.

' c. THURBER.

"MACHINE FOR PRINTING.

z sums-$3.5M 1.

rm: NORRIS PETERS co vmsumarou. 'p. c.

'PATENTED AUG. 26, 1843.

G. THURBBR.

MACHINE FOR PRINTING.

2 SHEETS-BEBE! 2. V

a UNIT D STATES ATENT CHARLES THUR-BER, OE WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

lMPROVEMENT lN MACHINES FOR PRINTING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 3,228, dated August 26,1843.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that 1, CHARLES THURBER, of thetown and county of Worcester, and State of Massachusettsjhave invented anew and useful Machine for Printing by Hand by Press ing Upon Keys WhichContain the Type, called Thurbers Patent Printer.

This machine is intended as a substitute for writing, where writing witha pen is inonvenient by reason of incompetency in the performers It isspecially intended for the use of the blind, who, by touching the keyson which raised letters are made and which ,they can discriminate by.the sense of touch, will be enabled to commit their thoughts to paper.It is intended for the nervous, likewise,

who cannot execute with a pen. fer making public records, as they can bemade-with this machine as accurately as with a'eom-mon printing-press.It is intended for thosewho wish tekecp alegible record of daily events,so that they may be read with ease and dispatch by others; and thevarious useful purposes to which it'rnay be applied will readilysuggestthemselves to every one.

I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the construction and operation of this machine,referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification,in which-'- Figure No.1 represents aperspective view of the machine.

No. 2 represents the center-bar 4, the semicircular band 0,whichsupports the rolls S, the ratch 3, the lever 7, and the small dog14.

No. 3 is a rear section of the machine, representing the box 30, whichcontains the ink, the scrapers 18, the regulating-screws 19, theroll17,thatwades in theink,theframe 31,which supports the roll 17, asection of the horizontal wheel N, :which supports and carries round thekeys R upon which the types are fixed, the studs T, the ivory heads U,and a section of the frame A. p

No. 4 is the guide 2, theperpendicular levet-15, the horizontal lever 7,and the lever 13 with which it is connected, and the dog 8.,

No. 5 is the rack 6. No. 7 is the ratch 3. No. 8 is the axis 4 and thepinion 5. The figure over which is written Small- Model shows how, byanother arrangement,

the wheel N may be hung, so as to swing per- It is useful pendicularly,and 20 representshowtthehorizontal lever may be made which turns theratch. p

The figure ov flwhichiswritten Sliding Modelv represents,- anotherarrangement for pushing the paper "along'-, infwhich 50 is the stand towhich the w-ork'is-fl xed, 51 is the key spring; 52, -the guide;-53, thekey, 54, the steady-pin; 5 5, the slot;' 56,"-the upr ght lever; 57 ,thelever spring; sane: arm which pushes thepaper along; 60 andfih'sections[of the two rims of the wheel N; p The frame which supports the whole ismade of wood prof metal, rectangular in form, (represented in thefigure'by A,) supportedby four or more legs,the size of the framevarying with the size of the paper or the book upon which the printingis'to be done. At each end. of the frame and attached to its interiorsideis a way, B, which rises or falls in obedience to a thumb-screw, C,which passes through a nut, at D, in each of the ways. When the ways areat the elevation required by the thickness of the book or paper which isto be put upon a the platen E, the ways may be made fast by thehorizontal screws F passing through the frame, and pressing against theways 13 or against the wires G attached to the ways B. The wires are putin merely to be guides to the ways in their ascent or descent, so thatone end of the carriage H may not be depressed or elevated more than theother end.

Instead of making the ways so as to rise or fall in obedience to theset-screws, as described above, they may be fastened permanently to theframe, and the wheel which carries the type around, together with theapparatus for inking, may be made to rise and tall portion to thethickness of the paper or book which is to be printed. If the type areraised it of course leaves more room between the bottom of the type andthe platen, and consequently a thicker book or 'paper could be placed.upon the platen. It is immaterial whether the platen or the wheel withthe inking apparatus be raised or depressed, as in either case the spacebetween the platen can be regulated according to the thickness of thething to be printed. As the printing will generally be done uponseparate sheets of paper, there will be no necessity that either theways and platen or the type with the inking apparatus should be made soas to rise or fall.

in pro-- distance from each other.

When it is rendered necessary by the nature of the thing printed,theobject may be effected in either of the ways described above.

Instead of placing the ways B at the extreme ends of the carriage H,they may be placed under the carriage at someplaces nearer the center,onwhich the carriage H may move.

These ways, when placed in the latter positions, may be supported at oneend by the. frame A in the rear, and the other end by the frameA infront. The carriage being necessarily twice the length of the platen,and of course twice the length of the book or paper,. -must necessarilysometimes be so long that if the ways were at its extreme ends it wouldnot move so easily as if the ways were placed nearer its center. In suchcases it may be found better to place them thus.

The carriage His designed to move forwar on the ways B as the type aresuccessively pressed down upon the paper, and to move backward whenpushed back to begin a new. line. Its sides also serve as ways on whichthe platen moves when a new line is commenced.

The manner in which the carriage is moved when the type are thrust downupon the paper will be described hereinafter.

From one end of the carriage to the other, in the middle-of it andpassing directly under the center of the platen, is a fiat piece ofbrass or other metal, I, which is an index to determine the distancewhich the lines are to be apart, perforated with rows of holes,(represented by the dots in the index or brass 1,) the holes in each rowvarying in distance from each other, as the lines are to be more or lessThe lines of course must be more or less distant from each other,according to the size of the type with which the printing is to beeffected. The spring J is fixed at or near the center of the under sideof the platen, and passing along over the index I to the middle of oneend of the platen, and turned up perpendicularly, so that it can belifted easily by the hand; Underneath this spring is a sharp-pointedwire, t, the point of which snaps into each successive hole in the indexas the platen is pushed along by the hand to form a new line. Across thecarriage from side to side, and passing through its center or near itscenter, is a rack, K.

From the middle of one sideof the frame to the middle of the otherpassesa solid bar, L, called a center bar, made of metal-or wood. This.is designed to support the wheel N, which contains the type, and thecircular band 0, which supports the rolls S and the guide Z, and alsothe ratch and horizontal lever, &c. From one part of this center barrises as perpendicular arbor, M, on which a horizontal wheel, N, turns.A semicircular band, 0, resting by its two ends on the frame at P, andby its center on the bar L, paascs around directly under the type. Thisis intended merely as a support for the rolls S. Through this circularband two or more rolls S, protrude, on

which the ink is carried by a process hereinafter to be described. Bythese rolls the type are inked. The rolls S are covered with deerskin,or the composition usually made use of by printers for their rolls, orby any other elastic substance which would properly transinit the ink tothe type.

A horizontal wheel,N, made of brass or other metal,furnished with tworims,turns upon the.

arbor M. This wheel is designed to carry around the type that they maybe thrust upon the paper at their propcrf places. The rims are fastenedtogether by the studs T. Through the rims of this wheel, equidistantfrom its center, the keys It pass, which have the type on their lowerends.

The keys containing the characters used in punctuation may be placed inthe same circle or may be. placed so as to make a smaller concentriccircle within and parallel to the circle formed by the letters. In themodel they are all in one circle. The number of the keys will varyaccording to the number of letters used. One alphabet at least must beattached to the keys. If capital letters also are required,the

number of the keys must equal the letters in two alphabets. If thefigures are required, ten more keys will be required, and so on, theirnumber increasing with the number of letters or characters. On the upperends of these keys are wooden, ivory, or metallic heads U. In the modelthey are made'of ivory and of a shape suitable to put the fingers uponwhen the type are to be thrust down. On these heads are to be marked byengraving or other wise the letter indicating the one on the lower endof the key.

The type to be-used are the common type i used in printing, soldered onthe lower end of the keys in such a position that each letter whenstamped upon the paper shall make its impression in an exact line withever'yantecedent impression and exactly parallel to it. These type maybe out upon the lower end, as in the model, or they may be swaged ontheir lower end, or a hole may be drilled into the lower end of thekeys, and the type inserted into these holes and made fast bymeltedsealing-wax. The sealing-wax when cool will keep the type firm intheir holes.

There are but fifteen keys in my model, inasmuch as it was designedmerely to show the principle.

At a point in the center bar, L, over which the type pass is a hole, Q,through which the keys and type when stamped on the paper are thrust.This hole should be so large that the type may pass through it andwithout marring the type against its sides. The keys R are raised andkept in the position which they are intended to. occupy when at rest bysprings Y.-

Instead of the springs used in the model spiralsprings may be used,coiled around the keys between the two rims of the horizontal wheel N.The rims should then be sufficiently far apart to admit'between them atniral spring sufficiently long to bring back the keys. After the typehave been thrust upon the paper pins W are screwed into the body of thekeys and at right angles with them, and pointing outward on a line andparallel with the radii of the wheel. These are screwed in at such apoint of the keys that when the keysare in the position they occupy whenat rest, the pins shall strike the lower side of the upper rim of thewheel N, and, the type shall rise just high enough to escape being inkedby the little rolls S as thetype pass over them. To prevent the type andkeys from'turning around, wires X are made to pass through the upper rimof the wheel downward, so that oneshall be on each side of the pinsW,which are screwed into the keys.

Instead of small pins screwed into the key, as in the model, strongerand larger pieces of metal may be used, near one end of which holes maybe drilled'large enough to slip. over the keys, and then smallset-screws may keep them in their place, or they may be fastened intheir position by soldering or otherwise.

, A circular wireor rim, Y, is made t6 pass piece of metal, called aguide, (represented by Fig. 2,) fastened to the central bar, L, and

rising perpendicularly.. A slot is cut in the middle of this flat pieceof metal perpendicularly, and of 'sufficient width to permit thesteady-pins W to pass down into it when the type are thrust upon thepaper. The circular wire Y rests upon the top of this guide,

and directly over the'slot it is .filed through,

to permit the steady-pinsto descend into the slot.

' Directly in front of the guide 2is'a ratch, 3, The axis of this ratchpasses perpendicularly through the center bar, I 1, and on the lowerextremity of the axis 4 isa pinion, 5, which gears into the rack 6, andas the ratch is turned one way or the other the carriage H, whichsupports the platen E, is moved backward or 7 forward. Under the ratch,and turning on the same center as afulcrum, is a horizontal lever, 7,which, when not in action, lies upon the center bar, L. A dog,'8, isfixed to this lever at such a place that it shall play into the gear orteeth of the ratch, and as the lever is pushed on one sidethe dog throwsthe wheel around, and the carriage H is moved along for each successivetype to make its impression on the paper in itsproper place. The furtherextremity of the lever toward the wheel N turns at a right angle at thefigure 9, and again at another right aiiglc at the figure 10, the lastpart beingparallel with the body of the lever; There is another angularlever, 11, turning upon ahorizontal pin at 12, affixed to abranch, 13,of the guide 2, and in such a position that one arm may presshorizontally against the further extremity 10 of the first lever, .7,and the other arm, 11, is so placed that when the keys are pressed downtheir steady-pins W throw down the arm 11 of the lever. The other arm.13, presses against the firstlever and the ratch ishnoved, and as anecessary consequence the carriage is moved. Another small dog, 14,fixed on the center bar, L, on the side of the ratch opposite the largedog 8, or at some other convenient place, plays into the teeth oftheratch and prevents the return of the ratch with'the return of thefirst dog, 8. Each lever and dogis brought into position by springs.There is an upright lever,15, directly in front of the'slot of the guide2, and when a type is thrown down upon the paper; if that type is narrowand requires the paper to be thrown forward but a short distance, alonger steadypin is put into that key, in the end of which this smalltype is placed, and thenwhen the letter is thrust down upon thepaper'thelong steady-pin comes out through the slot sufficiently far topush aside the upper end of this lever 15. The lower end descends at theside of the guide 2, so that the tail of the large dog 8 strikes againstit while carrying the ratch around, and the dog is thr wn out of gear sothat it does not move the'ratch, and consequently the paper, so far asfor a large letter. By lengthening the lower end of the upright lever15, and increasing the horizontal width of the steady-pin of any givenletter on. the side which strikes the uprightlever, it is evident thatthe lower end ofthe upright lever would be thrown down farther towardthe ex treniity of the tail of the dog, and thus the dog would be soonerthrown out of gear in proportion as the steady-pin is increased in bulkon theside which strikesthe upright lever. Thus the steady-pin of eachkey may be madeby increasing or' diminishing its length or bulk to throwthe platen and paper along in proportion to the width of the letter.

In order to leave blank spaces between the consecutive words, the lever7 must be moved toward the left by a horizontal pressure of the hand atthe end nearest the operator.

Under that part of the circumference of the wheel N, opposite the guide2, is the appara- I tus for containing and bringing up the ink. A doubleframe, 31., consisting of two pieces in the shape of an H 'is hung onthe end of two bars at- 16 by one end of each of the legs between thesetwo frames, H, and hung by a horizontal axis passing through the centerof thecross-bars of these two frames is a roll, 17, which wades in a boxof ink, 30, hung underneath the roll 17. This roll may be made of wqodormetal or covered with leather or com position. In order that too muchink may not he carried up by the roll 17., two scrapers,

18, are placed on opposite sides of the roll 17, which may, by the screw19, be made to sit more or less near the roll andpermit more or less inkto be carried up by the roll. Under the lower rim of the wheel N and inthe same circle of the type are some elastic cushions, 20, made ofleather or composition, which, as the wheel N is turned around by thehand, pass over the roll 17, which bring up the ink and cover themselveswith ink. Then as thesecushionsZO pass around they deposit this ink onthe small rolls S, which last rolls S ink the type as the type pass overthe rolls. The wheel in which the type are set may be made to turnperpendicularly, as represented in the drawings. The key would then passout through its circumference like the radii of a wheel. Thislast-mentioned key is represented by 32, small models. The

lever 7, to which the dog 8 is fixed which turns the ratch 3, may bemade the shape of the one in Fig. 20, and then the steady-pin of eachkey would throw the lever. aside more or less, according to thethickness of the steady-pins. When a type is-thrust down upon the paperby the above arrangement, the platen and paper are moved forward. If theI platen and paper continued to move as long as the type continued to bepressed down it is evident the paper would continue to move after thetype touched it, and the type would make abadimpression upon the paper.This difiiculty must be provided for. The paper should cease to movejust as the type is about to touch it. This object is gained, in thefirst way described above, by the tail of the dog 8 striking against theguide 2 or the lower end of the uprightlever and being thrown outof'"gear. It is thrown out of gear and ceases to turnv the latch, and,consequently, to move the platen and paper just at the instant when thetype is about to strike the paper. This object is gained in the secondmode described by the shape of the horizontal lever, as represented-byof small model. When the pin first strikes the slanting edge of thatlever,-.it

- throws it aside; but after it reaches the straight edge at the momentthe type is about to strike Ellie paper it is evident it will throw itno far- The mode of moving the platen and paper is in part executed by aratch; but in future machines it may be found convenient to dispensewith the ratch and have an upright lever hung1 on the center-bar, L, infront of the guide 2, eclining a little from the perpendiculartoward'itsupper end. Two or three dogs hung to this upright lever in such a mannerthat one of themshould be sure to push against one of the teeth oftherack 6, and then when the upright lever is pushed forward it would throwforward t e rack 6, together with the carriage to whic 1 it is attachedand the platen and the paper. By this last arrangement the rack 6instead of having its teeth on one side must have them on its upper sideor edge, so

that the dogs can hitch into th em. This upright lever standing just infront of the-slot in the guide 2 would be hit by each steady-pin as eachkey is thrust upon the paper, and the upright lever would be thrownforward just in proportion to the length of the'steady-pin. The objectin having more than one dog is to make it certain that one shall hitsome tooth in the rack 6 every time the upright lever is thrown forward.

The last twenty-eight lines may be more particularly explained byreference to the representation on the drawings by the words writtenover it, Sliding Model. is the wooden stand corresponding with thecenter piece, L. 56 is the upright lever. 57 is the spring bringingit'back into position. 58 is an arm,

the end of which presses against the teeth of the rack and pushes theplaten forward. 52

is theguide corresponding to the guide 2 in drawing No. 1. is the slotin the guide. and 61 represent sections of the upper and lower rim ofthe wheel N in drawing No. 1. 53 isa key. 54'is itssteady-pin. Pressingdown the key 53 causes its steady-pin 54 to strike against the uprightlever 56 and pushes it forward, and the arm 58 is necessarily pushedforward, which arm pushes the 'rack and platen forward. \Vhen thepressure is taken from the key 53, the spring 51 throws it up again,

and the spring 57 brings back the upright lever 56. Instead of thespring 51 a spiral spring coiled round the key will be preferable. Icall this the sliding model because it may be used for sliding thecarriage and platen forward. In this arrangement the movement of thepaper ceases just as the type is about to be pressed on the paper by thefollowing con trivance: When the key 53 is pressed down so far that itssteady-pin 54 arrives at that point of the upright lever at 59, it isevident that although the key may be pressed down a little farther itwill not throw the upright lever 56 any farther forward. The steady-pinat its external end must have such a perpendicular thickness that whenit ispressedbeyond the point 59 some part of its end may still lieagainst 59, so as to prevent the return of the upright lever 56 till thekey 53 rises again.

To prevent the keys and of course the type from turning round in theirplaces, wires X, as described above, pass through the upper rim, one oneach side of each steady-pin; but in machines hereafter to be made aband may be put around the horizontal wheel N and fastened to theexternal edge of its rims, reaching of course from the upper to thelower rim. This band, it will be readily seen, instead of beingfasteuedto the rims after the wheel N is cast, may be cast upon it, and theupper rim instead of being connected with the center by arms, as inthe-figure and model, may be supported simply by this, band. Throughthis band perpendicularly slots must be cut in front of each key'fromthe upper to the lower end to permit the steady-pins of the keys-to passthrough to prevent-the keys and type from turning. These slots should bepass up and down.

To use this machine, the first thing tobe done is to whirl round thehorizontal wheel N till the ink is properly distributed. The paper isput upon the platen and the platen is to be moved till that; part of thepaper where the printing is to commence shall come directly under thehole in the center bar through which the type pass when thrust upon thepaper. Then put the finger on the head of the key which has the letterwhich isfirst to be used. Press it down until its steady-pin touches thecircular wire Y. Slide the key upon the head of which the finger is puttoward the guide 2 until it is thrustby the pressure of the finger uponthe paper. ,At theend of a word push the lever to the left, as beforedescribed, as far as is necessary to leave the space between the wordsand then put the finger upon the next key-head, which is wanted to beginthe next word. Whena line is ended, whirl the wheel 7 N around to getfresh ink. Raise the spring J ,which passes under the platen by liftingit up by the hand. Push the platen along till the wire in this springsnapsinto the next notch. or hole of the index for another line. Throwthe carriage backward and proceed as before.

or someother alkali.

What I claim as my invention, and desire ta" secure by Letters Patent,is

shortening the distance the carriage'has to move.

4. The combination of the guide 2 and wire Y with the keys forregulating their motion, all as above described.

5. Theinkingapparatusincombinationwith the wheel .of type N, arranged inthe manner and for the purpose hereinbefore made known.

6. In combination with the above-described 1 apparatus, the employmentof movable ways for elevating and depressing the carriage, substantiallyin the manner setforth.

CHARLES THUBBER.

Witnesses:

LEwIs T. LAZELL, Enos DORR.

